Did you catch these?

Give them Jesus

How I love the blessed reminder that Jesus Christ left Heaven for earth to make peace between God and man. He accomplished that by dying the cruelest of deaths in our place and rising again three days later, redeeming sin’s hostages, and breaking the power of the inner darkness it creates.

I read with interest an online blog article for pastors and
church leaders titled, “Ways to attract people to church on Easter Sunday.”

Suggestions included hosting a family photo booth, using
Justin Bieber songs during worship, providing tasty treats to the congregation,
hiring an Easter bunny costume, bringing in a moon bouncer and announcing door
prizes for attendees.

While I completely understand the motive behind the list, I question
the premise that the Church must “lure people in” using secular marketing
techniques.

Jesus Christ delivered the most attractive, desirable,
joyful, freeing and life-giving message in the universe. Peace with God is
possible. Sincerely confessing our sins to God means he fully forgives and
forgets them. Death—formerly our worst enemy—no longer holds power over us. For
those who embrace Jesus Christ, eternal life and youth are a certainty after
death—in a place where sickness, dying and sorrow will be no more.

That news applies no matter who we are, what we’ve done or
when we did it. How much sense does it make to downplay it and upstage it with…a
moon bouncer?

But for the last several decades, in an effort to get
non-believers to attend church, many Western congregations have re-fitted their
churches and church programs into mini-versions of the rest of the First World—consumer
friendly venues with glam and gliz galore and regular enticements to outsiders
to join the “fun”.

And yet, according to recent surveys, it’s not working.

With humility, because the Bible says Christ’s church will
triumph, I ask, if Christian churches in the West continue “marketing our
product” in the same the way as society in general, will we not be forced to KEEP
doing things like the rest of the world? It’s an unwinnable race—but to where?

I’m reminded of a sign I saw on another vehicle while
driving one day. “Where are we going again, and what am I doing in this
handbasket?”

Jesus’ gave a simple
invitation “Come to me, all who are loaded with heavy burdens, and I will give
you rest.” At the same time, he warned that only a few will choose him—that the
way of the cross is hard, and the road narrow and full of persecutors. Christians
in the Third World face that reality daily.

When the twice-a-year church attendees show up for Easter
Sunday, let’s not present infinitely lesser gifts. Let’s offer what they may
not even realize they thirst for. Hope. Meaning. Fulfillment. Let’s show them
lives who have been changed by a living Saviour. It’s the most we can offer—inside
and outside our church doors.

Let’s give them Jesus—front and centre.

J

Jesus, healer of broken spirits and bodies! In 2014, our community staged the memorable production “His Promise” to remind us! (Dion Walker as Jesus, grandson Benjamin playing the healed child.)

Author: Kathleen Gibson

Writer, speaker, and broadcaster, Kathleen Gibson's passions for faith, home, family, and creation are evident in her award-winning writing. The author of two books, West Nile Diary and Practice by Practice, she has also published hundreds of columns and magazine articles in media outlets from local to global. Both her weekly newspaper column, Sunny Side Up, and radio spot, Simple Words, explore the connection between everyday life and Christian faith.